Hurricane Owen
For tropical cyclones of the same name, see Tropical Storm Owen. Hurricane Owen was the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded worldwide, and was the most intense hurricane to make landfall in the United States in the modern era. The fifteenth named storm, eighth hurricane, as well fourth and final major hurricane of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, Owen was the first Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The storm originated in the extreme south-central Caribbean near the coast of Colombia. 12 hours after formation, the new depression intensified into Tropical Storm Owen. The cyclone would track generally westward for a day or so before tracking northwest through the western Caribbean and explosively intensify to become the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed worldwide. Following the feat, weakening ensued due to an eyewall replacement cycle and Owen would make its first landfall near Guasasa, Cuba as a powerful 140 mph Category 4 hurricane before shortly thereafter weakening further into a Category 3 hurricane as the hurricane traversed Cuba. Following the brief weakening trend, Owen once again rapidly deepened and made landfall near Marathon, Florida as a 145 mph Category 4 hurricane. The storm would continue to strengthen while hugging the western coast of Florida before making a second landfall in Indian Rocks Beach in Pinellas County, Florida as a powerful Category 5 hurricane and make a third landfall near Cedar Key, Florida as a slightly weaker Category 4 hurricane. While making another turn toward the northeast across the East Coast of the United States, Owen would later make a final landfall near Point Pleasant, New Jersey as a Category 1 hurricane. The storm caused catastrophic, unprecedented destruction from as south as Cuba to as north as New England. Severe property would occur in coastal areas, and the brunt of significant wind damage was along the west coast of Florida in the Tampa Bay area, which had seen a direct hit from Hurricane Chris, a Category 2 hurricane at landfall, 4 years prior. Owen was the deadliest U.S. hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane, and property damage was estimated at around $296 billion USD, surpassing Hurricane Katrina of 2005 as the costliest hurricane on record. Meteorological history Origins The origins of Hurricane Owen traced back to an elongated low-pressure area that formed in mid-October in the eastern Caribbean that was spawned by a tropical wave. Over the next few days, the low would track westward in the extreme southern Caribbean and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) began issuing advisories on Tropical Depression Fifteen on October 20 subsequently following an Air Force Reconnaissance Hurricane Hunter aircraft found a well-defined closed circulation. The depression would organize further, and 12 hours later, Fifteen intensified further into the fifteenth and final named storm of the season, being given the name Owen. '' Record peak intensity and landfall in Cuba After attaining tropical storm strength, Owen would track over record warm Caribbean waters and had explosively intensified, strengthening from a Category 1 to a Category 4 hurricane in the unprecedented span of 6 hours. On October 22, Owen intensified further into a Category 5 hurricane and would explosively intensify throughout the day before reaching a record peak of sustained winds of 225 mph winds and a minimum pressure of 852 millibars late in the day into the early hours of October 23. With this attaining of strength, Owen surpassed Chris of 2018 as the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic basin, strongest in the western Hemisphere, and strongest overall worldwide. Following the incredible feat, Owen began weakening due to an ongoing eyewall replacement cycle before restrengthening into a Category 4 hurricane on approach to the southwestern Cuban coast. On October 25, Owen made landfall near Guasasa, Cuba, and weakening due to land interaction would ensue thereafter. Rapid intensification prior to landfalls in Florida After passing through the western coast of Cuba, Owen emerged in the extreme southeastern Gulf of Mexico and restrengthened into a Category 4 hurricane. Shortly thereafter, the powerful hurricane made landfall near Marathon, Florida and continued to pass to the north-northwest. Situated over warm sea surface temperatures and light wind shear, Owen once again began rapidly intensifying off of the west coast of Florida and would become a Category 5 hurricane a second time 12 hours later on the afternoon of October 25. Up until landfall, the pressure of Hurricane Owen consistently fell, although more gradually on approach to the secondary landfall. Late October 26, the eye of Owen made landfall near Indian Rocks Beach, Florida, the westernmost point of Pinellas County in the Tampa Bay area, as a Category 5 hurricane. At the time, according to Hurricane Hunter reconaissance aircraft, Owen had winds of 175 mph and a minimum pressure of 899 mbar, becoming the strongest hurricane of the modern era to make landfall in the United States and only the second most intense in overall records. It was noted by the aircraft that the pressure could've been as low as 880 mbar, but an eyewall replacement cycle began to occur right before the landfall. Third Florida landfall and subsequent weakening Due to the ongoing replacement cycle, Owen's core began to be disrupted commencing weakening over the next 12 hours before a third landfall in Cedar Key, Florida as a 155 mph Category 4 hurricane with a minimum pressure of 921 mbar. The hurricane thereafter continued to weaken while moving northward through the remainder of Florida, into Georgia, and eventually up into the Carolinas as a weaker tropical storm. At this time, the main global computer models continued to conflict on the future path of the storm. The GFS model continued to bring Owen northeastward or eastward out to sea and become absorbed into a larger, complex extratropical cyclone near Newfoundland. On the other hand, the ECWMF model continued to bring Owen on a hook back toward the United States, with a predicted landfall in northern New Jersey or metropolitan New York as a large Category 1/2 hurricane; this track scenario resembled Hurricane Sandy, 10 years prior. Forecast shift toward New Jersey and final landfall As the center of now-Tropical Storm Owen moved near the Outer Banks, the GFS model shifted in agreement with the ECWMF model path, prompting a track shift in much more agreement with a predicted landfall in Long Island. Owen intensified as it moved away from the Outer Banks, and began slowly making a turn northward and ultimately north-northwestward. The track would later shift further westward, toward the New Jersey coastline. Prior to landfall in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, Hurricane Hunter reconaissance aircraft observed Hurricane Owen to have maximum winds of 90 mph and a minimum pressure of 963 mbar. Six hours following landfall, Owen transitioned into a powerful extratropical cyclone, and similarly to "Superstorm Sandy, began to be coined as "Superstorm Owen" in the northeastern United States. Post-tropical transition and dissipation After moving ashore, Owen continued moving to the north and later to the northeast again, weakening below hurricane force by the time it reached southern New York just to the north of New York City metro. NHC continued advisories due to the still ongoing threat Post-Tropical Cyclone Owen posed to New England and Atlantic Canada. Gradually weakening, Owen's remnants continued northeastward through Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine before merging with another low pressure area over Eastern Canada, on November 2. Records Preparations Cuba As Hurricane Owen approached the Cuban coast, the government of Cuba issued a hurricane watch for the western coast of Cuba.. The following day, the same hurricane watch was extended further eastward. All hurricane watches in Cuba were upgraded to hurricane warnings on October 25. All warnings in Cuba were discontinued once Owen began to move northward away from Cuba toward Florida. Prior to reaching the coast, Owen was expected to be the strongest Cuban tropical cyclone to hit the country since Hurricane Irma made landfall as a Category 5 in 2017. The Cuban Red Cross deployed 27,000 volunteers across Cuba to assist civil defense teams in evacuation procedures for potentially affected populations. By 24 hours ahead of landfall, an estimated 1 million people were evacuated across the country. All domestic and international flights to and from the country were cancelled. United States Florida On the afternoon of October 25, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) official track of Hurricane Owen shifted westward from the original forecast taking the hurricane up the spine of Florida. At this time, Florida Governor Gwen Graham ordered all schools to be closed through the duration of Hurricane Owen. The National Weather Service's Marathon and Fort Myers offices issued vividly worded bulletins on August 28 predicting that the areas would be "uninhabitable for weeks" after "devastating damage" caused by Owen. After passing through Marathon, Owen's path shifted further west from predicted landfall in Fort Myers to Tampa directly through Pinellas County. After Owen rapidly intensified once again to become a Category 5 a second time off of the west coast of Florida with tropical storm and hurricane conditions underway for the Florida west coast, the NHC director held an emergency press conference announcing they expected Owen to be a "hurricane of the century" and rival the 1935 Labor Day hurricane and Hurricane Camille as one of the strongest hurricanes to ever make landfall in the United States, owing to the recent rapid re-intensification. This would lead to last minute further evacuations for the 25% remainder of the population of Pinellas County which hadn't been yet onto higher land, described as a "surprising, unbelievable catastrophe worst-case scenario" building for the Tampa area which had not seen a major hurricane make landfall since the 1921 Tampa hurricane. National Hurricane Center issued many tropical cyclone warnings and watches throughout the duration of Owen. In the past few decades especially prior to Owen and the change of forecast ultimately putting the Tampa Bay area in the bullseye, local officials had been concerned about a major hurricane impacting the area due to population increases, older building codes, storm surge projections, and complacency among some residents. New Jersey Preparations began on October 27 following an expected forecast change shifting the track of Owen to make a northwestward turn to make landfall on the New Jersey coast as a Category 1 hurricane or powerful extratropical cyclone, a little over ten years following Hurricane Sandy's devastating hit on the state. Ahead of the change in forecast, officials in Cape May County advised residents on barrier islands to evacuate. There was also a voluntary evacuation for Mantoloking, Bay Head, Barnegat Light, Beach Haven, Harvey Cedars, Long Beach, Ship Bottom, and Stafford in Ocean County. President Trump signed an emergency declaration for New Jersey, allowing the state to request federal funding and other assistance for actions taken before Owen's landfall. On October 29, Governor Murphy subsequently ordered all schools, colleges, and universities to close effective immediately. Impact Cuba United States Florida Storm surge was a devastating topping 26 feet in Tampa, 20 feet in St. Petersburg and in Apollo Beach, 24 feet. Winds blew water out of the rain gauge. Much of the cities of Tampa and St. Petersburg were flooded, with the worst along Bayshore Boulevard, where some of the most expensive properties were located. At Hyde Park, dwellings were inundated about halfway up the first story, prompting several people to be rescued by boat. Electrical poles and wires were washed away near the intersection of Bayshore Boulevard and Howard Avenue. Pinellas County, the most densely populated county in Florida, was left completely impassable. The neighborhood of Pass-a-Grille in St. Pete Beach was completely destroyed. New Jersey Elsewhere Upon moving through Georgia and later the Carolinas, Owen produced a storm tide that was unofficially measured to up to 8 ft in Myrtle Beach. Wind gusts were moderate, peaking at 60 mph (97 km/h) in North Myrtle Beach, though there were several unofficial records of hurricane-force gusts. Owen produced moderate rainfall along its path, peaking at over 10 in. Moderate winds knocked down numerous trees. Flash flooding occurred in Charleston County, causing widespread drainage problems. Damage in South Carolina and North Carolina totaled to $200 million. In North Carolina, In Maryland and Delaware, New York was severely affected by Hurricane Owen, particularly New York City, its suburbs, and Long Island. Prior to Owen's landfall in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, the GFS computer model called for a direct hit on New York City. In some areas as a result of the storm, damage was said to have rivaled Sandy ten years prior. Owen, like Sandy, flooded the New York City Subway system, of many suburban communities, and of all road tunnels entering Manhattan except the Lincoln Tunnel. Large parts of the city and surrounding areas lost electricity for several days.Flooding at exchanges disrupted voice and data communication in lower Manhattan. Thousands of homes and vehicles were destroyed during the storm, and the economic losses were to be estimated at $16 billion required for restoration across the state. Aftermath President Donald Trump declared the states of Florida, Georgia, and New Jersey as federal disaster areas and invoked H.R. 601 as a result. Criticism of U.S. government response The criticisms of the government's response to Hurricane Owen primarily consisted of criticism of mismanagement and lack of leadership in the relief efforts in response to the storm and its aftermath. More specifically, the criticism focused on the delayed response to the catastrophic flooding and destruction of Tampa Bay, and the subsequent state of chaos in the metropolitan area which took a direct hit and brunt of the Category 5 hurricane. The neologism ''Owengate was coined to refer to this controversy, similarly to Katrinagate in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In accordance with federal law, President Donald Trump directed the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Elaine Duke, to coordinate the Federal response. However, the President and Secretary Duke initially came under harsh criticism for what some perceived as a lack of planning and coordination between spending resources in Florida and New Jersey, and Trump's presidential approval rating would receive a 10 point drop (from 35% to 25%). International response The following countries assisted in response to the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Owen, either through donation of humanitarian supplies or monetary donations to assist in relief efforts. * Albania * Argentina * Armenia * Australia * Austria * The Bahamas * Bahrain * Bangladesh * Belarus * Belgium * Brunei * Cambodia * Canada * China * Colombia * Cuba * Czech Republic * Denmark * Djibouti * Dominica * Dominican Republic * Ecuador * Egypt * El Salvador * Finland * France * Germany * Greece * Hungary * Iceland * India * Indonesia * Iraq * Ireland * Israel * Italy * Jamaica * Japan * Kenya * Malaysia * Mexico * The Netherlands * Peru * Philippines * Poland * Portugal * Spain * Sweden * Switzerland * Turkey * United Kingdom * Vietnam * Yemen Relief efforts The disaster recovery response to Hurricane Owen included federal government agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the United States Coast Guard (USCG), state and local-level agencies, federal and National Guard soldiers, non-governmental organizations, charities, and private individuals. Tens of thousands of volunteers and troops responded or were deployed to the disaster - most in the affected area of Tampa. Political impact As the eye of Hurricane Owen made prior to the 2022 midterm elections, it was attributed as a reason for large Democratic gains in both the Senate and House of Representatives. This was due in part to what was seen as a "poor response" by President Trump in responding to the catastrophic wrath of the hurricane efficiently and properly initializing resources. An ABC News poll conducted on November 5, 2022, three days prior to the midterm elections, showing more blame was being directed at state and local governments (73%) than at the Federal government (68%), with 47% blaming Trump's leadership directly. A later CNN/USAToday/Gallup poll that was conducted showed that respondents disagreed widely on who was to blame for the problems in the city following the hurricane. Exit polls in the midterm drew a consensus of a split opinion on the immediate response to the disaster. CNN exit polling data indicated 55% were more likely to vote for a Democratic candidate as a result of Hurricane Owen - a majority of Americans. Media coverage Hurricane Owen became a center of conversation in international media. The hurricane became a career defining event for many media personalities. Retirement Because of the large death toll and destruction of property throughout the lifetime of Hurricane Owen, the name Owen was officially retired on April 6, 2023, by the World Meteorological Organization. The name will never again be used for another North Atlantic hurricane. It was replaced by Oswald on List II of the Atlantic hurricane naming lists. Category:Destructive storms Category:Deadly storms Category:Category 5 hurricanes